Weather, exports push soybeans higher

U.S. soybean futures settled narrowly higher, boosted by strong export demand for the new crop and concerns about stress on soybean fields due to severe hot, dry weather this week.

Chicago Board of Trade September soybeans rose 19 cents, or 1.3%, to $14.33 a bushel, a fresh one-month high for the spot contract.

Corn futures settled mixed, rising in the spot contract--which is soon entering its delivery period--due to the fact that cash market prices remain historically high. September corn futures picked up 4 1/2 cents, or 0.9%, at $5.04 1/4 a bushel. All other contracts declined.

Soybean futures were buoyed by a sales announcement Wednesday that China purchased 120,000 metric tons of soybeans during the 2013/2014 marketing year, which signaled to some traders that foreign buyers still see risk of prices for the oilseed drifting higher in the weeks to come.

"The export sales announcement this morning was interesting to see given the recent rally in soybeans" driven by worries that hot, dry weather could stress soybean crops, said Dan Dempsey, commodity analyst at EHedger, based in Clarendon Hills, Ill.

The purchase could be China "giving their sign that the country is perhaps worried about further yield losses in the crop," echoed Bill Nelson, an analyst with Doane Advisory Services in St. Louis.

Soybean futures have moderated slightly since their weeklong rally as weather forecasts have shifted to account for higher chances of rain throughout the nation's major grain- and oilseed-producing states.

The National Weather Service shows the next five days are likely to bring between higher-than-normal temperatures and 0.01 and 0.25 inch of rain to central Iowa and Illinois, the top soybean producers.

Meanwhile, the nation's corn crop is likely to benefit from the heat, since it has already completed its delicate pollination stage, and could be ushered into maturation faster as a result. When the corn crop is more fully developed, there is less risk for an early frost cutting total yields.

Japan Wednesday issued a tender seeking 120,000 metric tons of feed wheat and 200,000 tons of feed barley for bulk shipment by Dec. 31, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said.

CBOT wheat for September fell 4 1/4 cents, or 0.65%, to $6.46 1/2. KCBT September wheat slid 1 cent, or 0.1%, at $7.06 1/4 a bushel. MGEX September wheat added 4 3/4 cents, or 0.7%, at $7.34 1/4 a bushel.